Grain door for box cars



Patented Sept. 23, 19h24.`

F F l@ JOHN o. roman, or Amon, Iowa.

GRAIN" DOOR FOR BOX CARS.

. yApplication filed August 25, 1923. Serial N'o. 659,358.

To all whom t may concern.' y

Be it known that l, JOHN C. FoLGnR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Alton, in the county of Sioux` and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain Doors for BoX Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its primary object l0 the production of an improved closure for grain cars. y

Another object of thel invention is the production of improved means for securely and yet detachably securing the usual boards which are used to render the doorway of a grain car grain-tight Without nailing the boards to the door posts as is the usual custom, and furthermore the invention contemplates mechanism for this purpose which is simple and inexpensive in construction and installation, yet sturdy and dependable in operation, not likely to cause accidents, nor be damaged by loading and unloading materials -other than grain into and from the car. These and other objects and advantages I successfully attain in the embodiment hereinafter described, defined in the appended claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part in this application and in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, of which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a grain car equipped with the preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse section of the same taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a plan of one of the cams.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view, taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring, now, to the illustrations, the

portion of the car with which the device of my invention is associated is represented by the floor, 4, the longitudinal beam, v5, the

ceiling, 6, and door posts, 7 Resting againstl the inner sides of the door posts are the usual boards, 8, or their equivalent, which renders the doorway grain-tight. l The said boards, 8, are interposed between the door-posts and shafts, 9, supported in sockets, 10, embedded in the floor, 4, and suitable swivel bearings, l1, mounted on the beam 5. The said shafts 9 are rotatable and movable longitudinally in the said bearings,

10 and 11, and their upper ends may be proshafts are rotated by lateral handles, 14, disposed at substantially right angles to the greater radii of the cams, whereby they eX- tend in substantial parallelism with the boards, 8, when the cams are engaged.

As previously stated the bearings, 11, are

swivelly mounted, which permits the shafts to be lifted from the sockets, 10, and then swung laterally from each other to a hori- Zontal position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position they are held against longitudinal and rotary movement and precipitation by suitable bifurcated spring retainers, 15, depending from the car structure and releasably engaging the han dles, 14; and similar retainers, 16, releasably 80 engaging the free end portions of the shafts.

It will now be clear that in operation the shafts are placed in their upright positions with the handles7 14, extended from the door posts, whereby the boards, 8, may then be inserted between the cams and the boards. The shafts are then given a quarter revolution which brings the cams into iirm operative engagement with the boards. The

shafts are then secured against retrograde rotary movement by mea-ns of hooks, 17, pivoted on the car structure and releasably engageable with the handles, 14. The engaging ends of the cams, 13, are preferably comparatively thin whereby they quite readily cut into the boards to adapt themselves to the irregular surfaces thereof.

While I have illustrated and herein described but one embodiment of the invent-ion,

l would not be understood as being limited to such specific.` construction for various alterations and modifications may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts herein disclosed, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claim:

A device for retaining in position a closure extending across the doorway of a car comprising a socket bearing in the floor of the car adjacent t-he edge of the doorway, a

bearing above the doorway adapted to swing `on a pivot, a shaft normally journaled in said socket and said bearing, cams on the shaft adapted to engage the closure when r0 tated into position, ar handle secured to the shaftfor rotating the saine. a hook adapted to engage the handle to reta-in the eains in engagement with the closure, resilient detent arms fixed to the ear structure in position to receive the end of the shaft when the saine is removed at its lower end from the socket and swung upwardly around the pivot of the hearing, and a resilient bifurcated spring retainer for engaging the handle when the shaft is in its upper position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set l .my hand this 11th day of August, 1923.

JOHN C. FOLGERQ 

